The latest on Conflict Diamonds

When I first started Hope Diamonds it was around the time of the movie Blood Diamonds starring Leonardo DiCaprio. So many people were asking me about conflict and blood diamonds – it was almost the first question people would ask. Lately I don’t get asked nearly so much although I do still get asked occasionally about the origin of the diamonds we sell. We do sell a lot of Argyle and Ellendale Diamonds and so we are able to tell the origin of these but we still sell a lot of diamonds where the origin is unknown. One thing that we can confirm is that they are non conflict diamonds. I was reading an article that had some interesting facts about the positive influence the diamond industry has had on the world recently and thought I would share a few:

1. It is estimated that on a global scale approximately 5 million people have access to appropriate healthcare thanks to the revenue of diamonds

2. Diamond revenues enable every child under the age of 13 in Botswana to receive a free education.

3. An estimated 10 million people globally are supported either directly or indirectly from the diamond industry.

4. The revenue from the diamond industry is instrumental against the AIDS/HIV pandemic.

5. More than 99% of diamonds are now from conflict free sources and traded under the UN mandated – Kimberley Process.

I was asked a question from a client recently if it was possible to buy a “conflict diamond”. He didn’t want – he was just curious. I had never though about it before but quickly realised that I wouldn’t even know where to start to find a conflict diamond. I believe the regulation in place and the buy-in from all players within the industry has all but eradicated any market to sell anything but non-conflict diamonds.

So basically, the global diamond industry has a really positive impact on the world. Just gives you another reason to feel good about your diamond purchases (not that you need one!)